- Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the company and Elon Musk.
- They say they were fired for speaking out about a hostile work environment.
- The lawsuit alleges that Musk treated women as “sexual objects” and used vulgar language.
Eight former SpaceX employees have filed a lawsuit against the company and CEO Elon Musk, claiming they were wrongfully fired in 2022 for speaking out about a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges that employees wrote an open letter to SpaceX management expressing their concerns, after which Musk personally ordered the employees fired, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk is “running a company in the Dark Ages, treating women as sex objects judged by their bra size, inflicting lewd sexual jokes on the workplace, and telling those who object to his Animal House-like environment that if they don’t like it they should find a job elsewhere.”
The lawsuit alleges that Musk and other senior executives appeared in a video making light of sexual misconduct that was shown at an employee holiday party.
In one scene, Vice President of Human Resources Brian Bielde “has an employee demonstrate how to hit himself the ‘correct’ way,” according to the lawsuit.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
“Filing this lawsuit marks an important milestone in our quest to seek justice, hold management accountable, and implement responsible changes to workplace policies,” Paige Holland Thielen, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
The lawsuit accuses SpaceX of creating a hostile work environment, engaging in retaliation, failing to prevent harassment, sex discrimination, retaliating against whistleblowers, and wrongful termination.
The same group of former SpaceX employees previously filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging they were targeted for retaliation.
But the case has stalled after SpaceX sued the agency, arguing that its enforcement procedures violate the U.S. Constitution. In May, an appeals court granted Musk’s company a temporary injunction blocking the NLRB from pursuing the case.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Musk had had inappropriate relationships with female SpaceX employees, including a sexual relationship with a former intern.
The new allegations of sexual misconduct come at a complicated time for Musk: On Thursday, Tesla shareholders are set to vote on Musk’s controversial $55 billion compensation package, which could significantly boost the billionaire’s wealth.
